Edge Davao Volume 13 Issue 238 | Saturday, January 23, 2021

SHOULD YOU GET YOURSELF VACCINATED? HEALTH P9

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VOL.13 I SSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

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President Rodrigo Duterte has his biometric information taken as he submits himself in the registration process for the National Identification System administered by the Philippine Statistics Authority at the Malacañang Palace on Thursday. The national ID system was signed into law by President Duterte in August 2018. Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System Act, aims to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and resident aliens. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Sara orders start of mandatory implementation of Safe DQR in offices, establishments

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VOL.13 ISSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

NEWS

No major damages in 7.1 earthquake

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he 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook several parts of Mindanao at 8:23 p.m. on Thursday left no major damage to the town of Jose Abad Santos (JAS) in Davao Occidental where the quake's epicenter was identified some 231 km southeast at sea.

In his Facebook account, JAS Mayor Jason John Joyce posted there are no visible damages to major structures in the Poblacion area.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in its Earthquake Information No. 1 issued at 8:35 p.m. of the same night reported that there was no destructive tsunami threat existed based on its available data and that there was no tsunami threat to the Philippines from the said

earthquake.

Phivolcs reported the quake was of tectonic origin, 116 km deep and with reported intensities of 5 in General Santos City, South Cotabato, 4 in Davao City, and 2 in Bislig City in Surigao del Sur. Other intensities were also recorded in other areas in Mindanao that include Kiamba with intensity 5, Sarangani; General Santos City, Alabel in Sarangani (4); Kidapawan City in North Cotabato (3); and Cagayan de Oro City (2).

This was the first strong earthquake occurred in 2021 after a string of powerful earthquakes jolted southern provinces of Mindanao in October 2019 damaging properties, infrastructures and claiming dozens of lives. Maya Padillo

800,000 Dabawenyos willing to get vaccinated – DOH 11

Department of Health 11 (DOH-11) reports that around 800,000 residents in Davao Region are willing and have been listed to get the first batch of vaccination against COVID-19. Edge Davao

SCANNING REQUIRED

Sara orders start of mandatory implementation of Safe DQR in offices, establishments

By MAYA M. PADILLO

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ayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has ordered the start of the mandatory implementation of Safe Davao QR (DQR), the digital scanning app tool for contact tracing.

The mayor emphasized the scanning of the DQR as mandatory for the purpose of contact tracing for all individuals and establishments beginning February 3.

Mayor Sara signed Executive Order No. 02 Series of 2021 issued on January 22 mandating all individual

offices and establishments to scan the DQR of individuals entering their premises or post their establishment DQR ready for scanning by individuals.

The order also provided for the exemptions to offices and establishments that are not enclosed or are not

inside a structure with a roof and walls, for example: milk tea stall, ambulant vendor, lechon manok stand, sari-sari store, bakery, palengke stall, etc. as well as buildings that contain several offices or stores inside, such as malls, hospitals, commercial complex, etc. In this case, individual stores and offices should be the establishment that will scan the DQR. Mayor Sara stated that based on the pilot testing, the system can now function for the purpose it was developed and its mandatory implementation of its use can now proceed.

Based on data from the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Davao, around 1.8 million individuals have registered to the Safe Davao QR and 77,000 establishments listed.

Persons and establishments who have concerns about the DQR may contact helplines: Globe (calls only) 0915-661-7690, 0977-0677976, 0995-461-6400 while for text only 0995-4616402, 0995-461-6394, and 0977-067-7949; SMART calls only 0961-750-3540 and 0961-071-7590 while for text only 0961-7503541and 0961-750-3542.

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bout 800,000 individuals in Davao Region have been listed to get the first batch of vaccination against COVID19.

The Department of Health 11 thru Vaccination Team Leader Dr. Janis Olavides bared in the One Davao Virtual Presser that the department has initially recorded 800,000 Dabawenyos who are willing to be vaccinated and are part of the priority groups.

“As of now, although this is not yet complete, we have about 800,000 individuals willing to get vaccinated and the bulk of this number comes from Davao City with 539,725 individuals under the Group A priority,” Olavides said.

The vaccination team leader elaborated that the department is guided by the World Health Organization or panel of experts regarding the prioritization on the provision of the vaccine.

“The first priority (Priority Group A), it covers the frontliners, national government agencies, indigent senior citizens, and the remaining senior citizens, our indigent population and then our uniformed personnel. Another priority (Group B), it covers our teachers and other national government agencies, OFWs, and other workers in essential services. And third, all Filipinos by 2021.”

The Davao Region health experts highlighted the overall goal of the National Vaccination campaign which is to reduce the mortality and morbidity caused

by COVID-19. And the vision is that all Filipinos will be vaccinated with the COVID-19 by the year 2023.

“Currently, we are already updated from the central, our National Task Force for Covid-19, with regards

the immunization project….

We will be cascading this to all LGUs, and all implementing units, and parties and stakeholders, until the end of January 2021, we will be ready in case the vaccine will be available and ready in the country,” Olavides said.

The DOH XI stressed that prioritization is needed given the limited supply of vaccines. While the President has committed to provide vaccines for all Filipinos, however, it will be done by phasing.

Dr. Raquel Montejo, Operation Chief of the COVID19 Vaccination Program explained that the prioritization is based on the level of vulnerability to the COVID19.

The first priority group will be vaccinated this year while other groups will get the vaccination program in 2022 until all Filipinos will be covered by 2023. “ For now, vaccines will only be available in government facilities and not yet available in the market.”

Montejo requested those individuals who are willing to be vaccinated but not part of the priority groups to wait and trust the government as it is doing its best in fulfilling the goal of providing vaccines for all Filipinos.

Meanwhile, Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit Head Dr. Cleo Fe Tabada emphasized that while waiting for the vaccines in Davao Region, people must continue the practice of Minimum Health Standards (MHS) or popularly known in the BIDA Solusyon Campaign as the wearing of mask, proper sanitation, physical distancing, and believing and spreading right information. (PIA XI/Frances Mae Macapagat)

VOL.13 ISSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

NEWS 3

EDGEDAVAO

The city government of Davao, through the City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO), installs steel railings at Tibungco Public Market. The railings will protect pedestrians from accidents and direct them to use pedestrian lanes and overpass instead. CIO

Unemployment benefits now available: SSS Davao P

Davao City posts highest single-day recoveries

By MAYA M. PADILLO

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or an individual to lose main source of income is heavily distressing especially in time of Covid-19 pandemic.

To help displaced workers, the Social Security System (SSS) rolls out RA 11199, which is an act that provides involuntary separation benefits for Filipino employees whose employment has been terminated.

Greta Fe Quayle, information officer of SSS-Davao, said this is a new SSS benefit and not a dole-out.

“Unemployment benefit dungan ni ug birthday sa SSS Law of 2018 or RA 11199. Benefit ni as an SSS member. Kani siya gina grant sa mga members nga nawad-an ug trabaho especially during the pandemic,” Quayle said.

To qualify for the SSS unemployment benefits program applicant must

not be over 60 years old at the time of unemployment, paid at least 36 months’ worth of monthly SSS contributions and 12 months have been paid in the last 18 months prior to job loss, did not receive SSS unemployment benefits within the last 3 years prior to the date of unemployment, and employment is terminated involuntarily due to retrenchment or downsizing, cessation of operation, economic downturn (job loss

due to economic recession or depression), and natural or man-made disasters/calamities.

“Kaning ginahatag na benepisyo ang equivalent is 50 percent of your salary credit. Meaning pag 50 percent of your salary credit for example ang imong ginabayaran na bracket is 10,000 tagaan ka sa SSS ug 5,000 for two months. All in all, kaisa lang ni madawat makadawat ang miyembro

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osting 8,568 recoveries since the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic broke out in March, this city registered between 81 to 82 percent recovery rate, the city government said in a statement.

Dr. Ashley Lopez, the local government's Covid-19 focal person, said the city logged the highest single-day number of recoveries on Tuesday (January 19), consisting of 105 recovered patients.

"We reduced the active cases due to the 105 new recoveries in one day,” Lopez said.

The post-holiday surge, Lopez said, began on Jan.

7, involving some 150 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

"We are still suffering from the post-holiday surge,” Lopez warned, adding that the majority of confirmed cases are asymptomatic.

Meanwhile, Lopez said that 95 percent of the Covid-19-related deaths in the city were "hospital deaths."

“Nobody died while on the road or because of delay in pick up from their homes. The majority died in the hospital. Most of them are elderly. The affected age group is 60 and above, especially with co-morbidities,” he said.

he city focal person on COVID-19 warned employers to be wary of proper ventilation in workplaces as a COVID-positive person needs only fifteen minutes to infect other individuals especially in airconditioned rooms and secluded areas.

Dr. Ashley Lopez, COVID-19 focal person in Davao City announced that 50 percent of the COVID-19 cases in the city are due to community transmission in the household with cases also rising particularly in the workplaces particularly in the call centers and

banks.

He also noted the spike in COVID-19 cases in big companies in agriculture and government offices, but more in banks and business process outsourcing among the workplaces because of the use of air-conditioning system.

Lopez reiterated the implementation of the basic health protocols and other basic health standards in the workplaces to prevent the illness.

“We organize a team headed by Lorna Mandin of the Integrated Gender

Adults, main source of infection among children COVID patients T

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avao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) Infection Control Unit Medical Officer IV, Dr. Jasmin De La Cruz, revealed that adults are the main source of COVID19 infection among children patients.

De La Cruz said that since adults are the ones who are allowed to go out during the pandemic, they are the ones who are most likely to bring the virus home.

“Wala kabalo ang adult

nga naa na diay siyay exposure sa kauban sa trabaho, or nag travel siya wala siya nag mask. Mao jud ni siya ang risgo sa mga bata (The adults don’t know if they have been exposed by their colleagues at work, or they may have traveled without wearing a mask. This is truly a risk to the children),” she said.

She added that it doesn’t help when adults are ignoring their symptoms or when they are afraid to report to

the health authorities for possible COVID19 infection.

“Ang problema lang ang uban mahadlok man gud pud. Ang uban wala lang pud sa ila. Diha na sila ma worry kung ang bata na ang nagdaot (The problem is that some are afraid [to get checked] while the others just ignore [their symptoms]. They start to worry when the children are the ones being sick),” she said.

With this, De La Cruz advised that first and fore-

most, adults should try their best to avoid being infected; they should always follow the health protocols: wearing of mask, washing of hands, and maintaining of 2-meter physical distance.

“Maka infect ra man ka sa imong mga anak kung ikaw mismo na infect sa COVID (You are only infectious to your children if you yourself have been infected),” she explained.

As well, when coming

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Proper ventilation in workplaces could prevent COVID-19 infections

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4 ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

Workers try to separate the rim from a huge tire at a vulcanizing shop along C.P. Garcia highway in Davao City on Friday. Edge Davao

Below 3.2% average inflation seen in 2021

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he possibility of inflation averaging higher than monetary authorities’ projected 3.2 percent is less likely this year given the economic impact of the pandemic, a ranking Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official said.

In a briefing streamed over the BSP’s Facebook page Thursday, BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said the balance of risks to inflation leans on the downside.

“That means when we look at all the different possibilities. It’s much more likely that you can have an average that is a little bit be-

low 3.2 percent for the year rather than higher than 3.2 percent,” he said.

Downside risks to the rate of price increases this year include the dampening effects of the pandemic which impact economic activities.

Upside risks, on the other hand, include weather-related disturbances,

which Dakila said “are really on the short-term.”

For 2022, the BSP’s average inflation forecast is 2.9 percent.

Both this and next year’s projected average inflation rate is within the government’s 2-4 percent target band until 2024.

Dakila said the trajectory of inflation points to a rate of above the midpoint of the target in most of this year.

He said the uptick of December 2020 inflation rate to 3.5 percent, from monthago’s 3.3 percent, is still attributable to the impact of the heavy typhoons in the latter part of last year and

the rise in the international oil prices, both of which are supply-side factors.

Amidst the acceleration of inflation rate in the last two months of last year, average inflation in 2020 stood at 2.6 percent, below the 2-4 percent target band.

“We see that the impact of these factors will be concentrated more on the first half of the year and perhaps continuing a little bit into the second half. But later on, inflation can drop to below the midpoint of the target towards the last half of the year. Again, being driven by, this time, base effects,” Dakila added. (PNA)

tal payment and financial transactions for government institutions,” he said.

Bayad accepts payment for insurance, electronic phone load, loan payout, airline ticketing, remittance, and medical reimbursements.

It also accepts contribution and loan payments for several government agencies like Pag-IBIG Fund, and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), as well as payments for services of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)

and some local government units.

These payments can be done through Bayad’s branches nationwide and its 24/7 service through its online portal, Bayad Online.

Since Bayad has evolved into a full-service fintech, it has introduced a mobile app that is available through the App Store for iOS users and Google Play Store for Android users.

However, payments for government agencies that are currently available through the app are for NBI

and Pag-IBIG. “At the heart of this transformation is the mission to innovate payments and financial solutions for everyone,” Ferrer said.

He said technological innovations have resulted in “a new world order”, which significantly increased its importance during the pandemic.

He added Bayad is “transforming to keep pace with the times and people we serve” and is “guided by our belief that Filipinos

Fintech eyes more partnerships with government institutions

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ore government agencies will be onboarded on Bayad’s line-up as the latter supports the government’s digital payment and transactions bid.

This was stressed by Bayad president and chief executive officer (CEO) Lawrence Ferrer during a virtual event for the company’s rebranding that was streamed over its Facebook page Thursday. The company was previously known as Bayad Center.

“Bayad supports digi-

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Nissan to close plant; DTI cites need to guard auto industry

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epartment of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez bared on Thursday that his office received a letter from Nissan Philippines announcing the shutdown of its assembly plant in the country.

“The announcement of Nissan to close their assembly operations in the country is regrettable, as these developments all the more demonstrate the critical situation of the local motor vehicle industry,” Lopez said in a statement.

Nissan assembles its Almera model in the Philippines.

Some 133 workers are employed in the production facility.

“The stoppage of Almera’s assembly operations, following closely that of Honda and Isuzu, only highlights that the local auto assembly industry is critically impacted by the surge in imports and will thus benefit from the timebound safeguard duty,” the DTI chief said.

Starting Jan. 20 this year, the DTI imposed provisional safeguard duties of PHP70,000 on imported passenger cars and PHP110,000 on imported light commercial vehicles.

The safeguard measures will take effect for 200 days.

Based on DTI’s study, the share of imported passenger cars in the Philippine market increased by 35 percent between 2014 and 2018, with local assemblers sharing only 22 to 25 percent of the market while imported passenger cars dom-

inated more than 70 percent market share.

The market share of local assemblers for light commercial vehicles also shrank from 18 percent in 2014 to 7 percent in 2018. “(T)he provisional safeguard measures need to be immediately put in place to protect the domestic industry from further serious injury,” Lopez said.

He added the Philippines is one of the most open markets among Southeast Asian nations in terms of automotive vehicle imports.

For instance, Thailand imposes an 80 percent most favored nation (MFN) tariff on completely built-up units (CBU) from countries outside Asean.

Meanwhile, the trade chief said the closure of the assembly plant of Nissan is expected as the firms’ executives have expressed their plans to cease production operations here due to weaker volume sales and low market share of the Almera.

Nissan Almera’s sales in the Philippines is around 4,500 units or 1 percent of the total market share.

Nissan is leasing its facility from Taiwanese firm Yulon Group.

As the manufacturing facility will remain intact, Lopez hopes the plant can be used by the next entrant that will assemble cars locally when the business climate improves after the coronavirus pandemic.

“Alongside the modernized incentives being

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VOL.13 ISSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY 5

A rider drives a“skylab”with his family in tow in Marilog District, Davao City on Friday. Due to lack of public transport,“skylab”became a popular means of transportation in the city’s far flung areas. Edge Davao

House panel mulling removal of data cap on mobile data services T he House Committee on Information and Communications Technology is considering measures seeking to require telecommunications (telcos) companies to roll over its data services and remove data caps for the customers.

Both House Bills No. (HB) 7505 and 8085 by Rep. Enrico Pineda and Deputy Speaker Strike Revilla are seeking to institutionalize roll-over data allocation scheme and remove caps and expiration of data services purchased by sub-

scribers.

Prepaid subscribers are currently at the mercy of prepaid data promos by telcos, Democracy.net.PH co-founder Pierre Tito Galla said during the hearing.

“I, as a prepaid subscriber… know this daily, there

is no such thing as prepaid data services, there is only prepaid data promos,” Galla said.

Once the telco decides to discontinue its service, subscribers will be left to subscribe to another, usually more expensive promo, he said.

Unlike before, subscribers can simply turn on their data call services in their phone settings to use data services. Galla said this method is no longer possible.

Energy to remain affordable amid transition to renewable sources

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he Department of Energy (DOE) said the cost of electricity will still be affordable as the country plans a shift towards renewable energy (RE) sources.

“We are anticipating a shift in our power generation mix, again from one that is coal-centered, to one where renewable energy, natural gas, and other emerging sustainable energy technologies make up two-thirds of our total generation by year 2040,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in an online forum organized by the Philippine Energy Independence Council (PEIC) and European Chamber of Commerce

of the Philippines (ECCP), Energy For his part, Energy Undersecretary Jesus Posadas said that the DOE is strictly mandating a competitive selection process in determining which firms or entities will be allowed to explore and develop the country’s RE resources.

A competitive selection process will ensure that the cost of power will remain affordable.

Early this month, the DOE kicked off the beginning of the third Open and Competitive Selection Process (OCSP3) in a bid to accelerate the development of renewable energy in the country.

Under the OCSP3, the Energy department said a total of 22 predetermined areas (PDAs) covering potential geothermal and hydropower resources have been identified and were presented to the various stakeholders during the launch.

The said PDAs consist of 17 potential hydro projects and five geothermal projects which have a total potential capacity of about 150 megawatts (MW) and will be offered to qualified RE developers.

In October last year, the Energy department confirmed that 100% foreign ownership in large-scale

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The chairman of the committee, Tarlac Rep. Victor Yap, agreed with this observation based on his own experience.

Smart’s Vice President for Legal and Regulatory Group Roy Ibay agreed that promos were meant to be temporary. He denied, however, that these promos would automatically be expensive for the subscribers.

Ibay added that they provide the subscriber the information about the duration and the mechanics of

such promos.

Promos serve “to introduce a new product, to generate a new demand and to do market-research on consumer preferences and behavior,” he said.

Telcos, he pointed out, maintain data caps that are needed to make internet service cheap and prevent excessive use.

Should the expiration of these data services and the data cap be removed, it would also mean that more users could “clog” their sys-

tem and strain their networks, he added.

MIDDLE GROUND The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), meanwhile, wants a middle ground to balance the interest of subscribers without straining the telcos’ facilities.

“We do recognize that there are economic considerations, carrying costs, as mentioned by the telcos, one solution that would be

he Department of Agriculture (DA) is calling on backyard and commercial hog raisers to secure insurance packages to ensure their recovery in the event their farms get affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF).

“As the Department of Agriculture (DA) intensifies efforts to encourage hog raisers to get back to business and, ultimately, help pork production rebound, availing of an insurance coverage is a prudent safety net for existing raisers and for those in ASF-free areas who will venture into this busi-

ness,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a statement Thursday.

“Insurance offers stronger security in protecting one’s investments,” Dar added.

The Agriculture chief said raisers should take advantage of the free livestock insurance offered by the DA’s Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC).

“Regain your businesses and protect your livelihood,” he said.

The sole government agricultural insurance firm in the country, the DA-PCIC included ASF among the risks

covered by its livestock insurance as early as 2019 when the dreaded disease broke out locally, according to PCIC president Atty. Jovy Bernabe.

The PCIC provides P10,000 insurance cover per head of swine, on a premium payment of only 2.25% or P225.

Small backyard hog raisers are given free insurance if they are listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).

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Agri dept. urges hog raisers to insure pigs T

The insurance coverage is different from the ASF in-

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6 VANTAGE EDGEDAVAO

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VOL.13 ISSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

On the signing of Executive Order No. 123 modifying the rates of import duty on certain agricultural products under section 1611 of the Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act:

This is most welcome and I support it. This will have a huge impact on keeping prices low by keeping the tariffs low and preventing any inflationary effect.”

Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go

EDITORIAL

Of flyovers and urban legends

From the district office of Davao City’s First District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Z. Duterte comes this pleasant news that the presidential son and his allies in Congress are now working on allocating funds for the construction of a flyover at the junction of Carlos P. Garcia Avenue also known as Diversion Road and Barangay Maa Road.

Congressman Duterte’s advocacy should be welcome by Dabawenyos who are worried of the worsening traffic problem in the city. The announcement came in the wake of the cancellation by the Department of Public Works and Highways of a P1-billion flyover project at the corner of Ma-a Road and McArthur Highway in Matina due to massive opposition by affected business establishments. Cited as ground for the objection, in fact, is the traffic disruption to be caused in the area during the transfer of cables of Davao Light and Power Company, Inc. (DLPCI) and water mains of the Davao City Water District (DCWD) in the course of the project’s execution.

For engineers this is easy to contemplate. Mere observant laymen understand that a flyover such as this would easily kill the existing establishments, such as the S & R exclusive shopping mall and even the potentially-lucrative multi-billion mixed use development that the NCCC plans in the area in the very spot where their burned mall was.

This is not to say that Congressman Pulong’s plan at the other end of Ma-a Road would not affect any establishment. We still have to hear what the Catholic Church, specifically the St. Francis of Assissi Parish, has to say. But such is the dynamics of big ticket projects.

We’re sure Cong. Pulong’s researchers and the DPWH bureaucrats are consulting all stakeholders on the project.

Davao is so lucky to be the locale of several big road projects un-

EDGEDAVAO

Providing solutions to a seamless global village.

der the Rodrigo Duterte administration.

Projects involving widening and improvement of old roads and the buildings of new ones are all aimed at solving a singular problem – worsening traffic problem.

Some Dabawenyos however also suggest that our roads be fixed so as to check their being dangerous to the lives of motorists and passengers and even those who reside or do business along roadsides.

They refer to accidents-prone roads in the city. These road spots are the locations of mishaps so frequent that urban legends have been woven by superstitious motorists around them.

Many who have spent their youths in the city are familiar with the myths and the ghost stories that go with the deadly accidents that happened along these roads. The headless nun and the faceless priest along the stretch of the highway in Bajada near SPMC and between the Redemptorist Church and Abreeza and the tobacco-smoking “kapre” (folklore giant) in Dumoy near the old The Garden and many other “devil spots” along the road from the poblacion to Calinan District.

The roads have been corrected not necessarily aimed at stopping the accidents but the accidents have stopped anyway.

It must have something to do with the topography of these dangerous roads. A case in point is the accident-prone corner of Matina Pangi and the Diversion Road. Many lives have been wasted in frequent accidents in this area where there is a steep downhill spot near the junction.

Our road builders must also do something to stop the deaths more than just removing the traffic light.

How about that DPWH wise guys?

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VANTAGE POINTS

7

HENRYLITO D. TACIO THINK ON THESE!

SEX AFTER HEART ATTACK Yes, a person can have sex again – even after a heart attack. Such assurance comes from a doctor who is a recipient of the Outstanding Filipino Physician Award from the Department of Health.

“A person who survives a heart attack that can sex again provided he follows some precautions,” says Dr. Willie T. Ong, an internist-cardiologist, who is an active consultant in cardiology at the Manila Doctors Hospital and Makati Medical Center.

A heart attack happens when some of the heart’s blood supply is suddenly and severely reduced or cut off, causing the heart muscle to die because it is deprived of its oxygen supply.

“About two of three people who have heart attacks experience intermittent chest pain, shortness of breath, or fatigue a few days or weeks beforehand,” notes The Merck Manual of Medical Information.

Generally, the most recognizable symptom of a heart attack is pain in the middle of the chest that may spread to the back, jaw, or left arm.

Less often, the pain spreads to the right arm.

“During a heart attack, a person may become restless, sweaty, and anxious and may experience a sense of impending doom,” the Merck manual informs. “The lips, hands, or feet may turn slightly blue.”

A heart attack is a medical emergency. “Half of deaths due to a heart attack occur in the first 3 to 4

hours after symptoms begin,” the Merck manual points out. “The sooner treatment begins, the better the chances of survival.”

Those who survive a heart attack are usually wary of having sex with his partner. But the chance of another heart attack during sex is a myth. In fact, the chance “is so low that it’s not worth worrying about,” says Dr. James E. Muller, a researcher who published a 2000 study, ‘Triggering of Cardiac Events by Sexual Activity,’ in the American Journal of Cardiology. “The absolute risk is very low and should not be a consideration for those with stable coronary disease,” he points out.

Of course, it’s normal for patients to have sex less frequently in the weeks and months after a heart attack. A patient has “no choice but to abstain (from any sexual activity), by virtue of the fact that he or she is still recovering from the illness,” says Dr. Helen Ong-Garcia, a cardiologist at the St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Generally, patients can resume sex after a heart attack if they are “able to walk a couple of flights of stairs, if they’re able to walk on a treadmill, or do moderate-intensity activity without any chest discomfort or without any severe shortness of breath,” says Dr. Randal Thomas, a preventive cardiologist and director of the Cardiovascular Health Clinic at the Mayo Clinic.

The American Heart Association says a doctor may prohibit sex among

those who survived heart attacks in the following instances: a few days after a heart attack, bothersome chest pains, and shortness of breath.

Dr. Ong advises patients with heart disease or those who survived heart attacks to follow these five tips before engaging in sexual acts: Get a medical clearance first from your doctor. After a heart attack, VOL.13 I SSUEwould 237 •usually FRIDAY, JANa cardiologist request UARY 22, 2021 a treadmill test (jogging while being monitored by electrocardiogram).

This test would determine how much physical activity, measured in metabolic equivalents (METS), a patient is allowed before the oxygen supply to the heart is hampered.

“During an orgasm, the heart rate dramatically increases from 80 beats to 114-145 beats per minute,” Dr. Ong says. “The blood pressure also jumps by 40 millimeters of mercury, so a systolic blood pressure of 130 can reach 170 during climax.”

A person will expend 5 METS while having sex with his wife, Dr. Ong informs. However, he discourages those who survived a heart attack to engage in sexual activities other than their wives. Doing so would bring the energy level to 10 METS. “The stress and excitement of having an unfamiliar partner in unfamiliar territory is equivalent to an hour of heavy cycling or rowing,” Dr. Ong says. “This explains why some people unceremoniously die in motels while ‘in action.’”

Ask the healthy partner to do

the work. “For more serious cases, the heart patient may preferably lie on his or her back and let the healthier spouse stay on top,” suggests Dr. Ong. “It’s hard to imagine a postheart attack patient performing acrobatic maneuvers in bed.”

If both partners have heart problems, Dr. Ong suggests that they practice “intimacy without sex.”

Do it in the morning. Here’s the reason why, according to Dr. Ong: “Patients usually feel stronger and healthier in the morning as compared to the wearisome hours of the evening. Older patients usually feel weaker and more tired as the day goes by. So a ‘morning special’ may be a good idea.”

Take a light meal only before sex.

Some motels advertise three-hour use of their special mirrored rooms, including a free steak and soda for only P800. You better take note.

“Gorging on food immediately before making love is not advisable because digesting food would make the blood supply preferentially go to the stomach and deprive the heart of much-needed oxygen,” warns Dr. Ong. His friendly advice: “Take your free meal after sex and not before.”

But for those who have already eaten, they must wait from one to three hours after eating a meal before engaging in sexual activities. The waiting time allows the digestion of food being taken.

Don’t forget to take your medications. This is very important.

Usually, heart patients take several pills like nitroglycerine to dilate the arteries of the heart, and other pills for high blood pressure, diabetes or cholesterol problems.

“Just continue taking your medications a few hours before lovemaking as we want you to be strong and protected,” Dr. Ong reminds. “Those with chest pains should have their pills handy just in case they feel something wrong. Be prepared.

Have all your pills, patches, gadgets and a glass of water ready to go.”

What about those having problems with erectile dysfunction or impotence? Can they take those erection-enhancing medications?

Although they are not highly recommended, its intake remains safe, as long as it is not taken at the same time with nitroglycerin, physicians caution.

The US Food and Drug Authority warns that the combination can send blood pressure plummeting to unsafe levels and cause dizziness, fainting, heart attack or stroke. “There have been some reports of death,” says Dr. Thomas. “Anybody who’s had a heart attack or heart surgery should definitely be cleared through their doctor before they think of using any of the medications for sexual dysfunction.”

Dr. Edgardo E. Eba, consultant of the Cardiac Rehabilitation at the Philippine Heart Center, assures, “No one dies (by engaging in sexual activity).

Just don’t go into any sexual activity without preparing yourself.”

FRED C. LUMBA SPECKS OF LIFE

WILL BIDEN BE A FRIEND TO DIGONG? “A politician divides mankind into two classes: tools and enemies.”

(Friedrich Nietzsche) Will Joseph Biden (want to) be a friend of Digong Duterte?

Lest you be mistaken, the incoming Biden administration may be taking a wait-and-see attitude as far as its relationship with the incumbent administration is concerned.

Recall that during the wee hours of the 8-year old Obama government, the newly-elected Philippine Chief Executive had a falling apart with the former president, including an exchange of sour words with Philip Goldberg, the outgoing American ambassador.

The Biden administration may not look too kindly with the manner PRRD has shabbily treated the VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement) at a time when the US-China relations were not that good because of trade imbalance and diplomatic irritants caused by territorial issues in the West Philippine Sea (or South China Sea).

The fact that US-based allies of the Yellow Party supported the Liber-

als in plotting in so many ways and agitating the ouster of the former Davao City mayor since Day One of his presidency may come in the way.

However, early announcements from the Palace say the Duterte regime is looking forward to establish friendly relations with the newly-installed Biden presidency.

We may be able to “decipher” what happens next with the appointment of a new US ambassador to the Philippines.

One thing is certain though.

I have heard from the political and media grapevines that the LP will be moving heaven and earth to demonize PRRD continuously until the presidential polls in 2022.

This is first of all to discredit him and take away the huge popular support he is getting from the Filipino people as per the last several surveys.

If the local political opposition, considered to be a spent force, is successful in getting the backing of the Biden administration, then the Liberals will proceed to put up a “credible” standard bearer (whoever

it is) to snatch the top position of the land, thus preventing another Duterte (Sara, as rumors persist) from inheriting her dad’s most coveted post, and or his anointed successor.

Biden’s US policy vis a viz the incumbent will most probably hinge on the latter’s “failed” anti-illegal drugs war and the “gross” human rights violations his political enemies have been harping about since PRRD launched it in the beginning of his sixyear term.

If the recent ugly dynamics of the US presidential elections are the gauge, I will entertain a not-so-pleasant and comfortable position.

And if you might have observed already, Obama, Hillary Clinton and the so-called Deep State, the mainstream media, the globalist oligarchs and elitists and the Left have all conspired to ensure Donald Trump loses the presidential contest as the latter is the last stumbling block in their desire to establish a globalist dominion.

Watch out then for a wellplanned and calculated anti-Duterte campaign in the media (print and

broadcast) as well as in the SocMed. Funding for these activities will come pouring like rain. You will begin to see the materialization of Liberal You might also want to connect the dots with the early (though abjectly premature) proposals in the House of Representatives and the Senate to grant ABS CBN a franchise renewal.

Ostensibly, a broadcast giant like ABS is a necessary adjunct in the successful implementation of a media campaign to destroy Duterte et al, including whatever he has built and achieved for the nation.

Political enemies of PRRD as well as disgruntled sectors will not leave any stone unturned since their ranks have been decimated in the 2016 and 2019 balloting where Filipinos collectively voted for candidates endorsed and supported by the Duterte bloc.

If Biden and his expert advisers on Southeast Asian affairs and the China issue handle US foreign relations with aplomb, it might do well for them not to commit the mistakes made during the Obama incumbency where, short of cutting US-Phil rela-

tions, the Dems alienated its ties with the Philippine government by continuously demonizing Duterte in the US and the Philippine media as well.

Duterte respected the VFA pact accordingly but only up to a point because he wanted to establish an independent foreign stance for the Philippines where the country has now freely established market trading relations with China, Russia and the European Union.

Come to think of it, my fears are that the political opposition will use hammer and tongs and other persuasive sales pitches in order to commit Biden to support their plots in exchange for favorable strategic military pacts with the US. Who knows if the Biden regime will even resort to a “diplomatic” persuasion for the Duterte government to allow the US to rent anew a portion of raw lands to put up a new military base similar to Subic and Clark.

We will never know what Biden will be up to.

We’ll just have to pray. (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo. com.) GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!

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EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

COMPETITIVE EDGE

RESILIENT PARTNERSHIP. Despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic, AboitizPower and its partner cooperative NEECO II Area 1 continue to make sure ample, reliable, and sustainable energy reaches the homes and businesses of its customers in the province of Nueva Ecija.

AboitizPower, NEECO II Area 1 celebrate Cleanergy pact A

dding to a list of its year-end holiday celebrations, AboitizPower through its subsidiary, AP Renewables Inc. (APRI), sealed its partnership with Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative Area 1 (NEECO II Area 1) for another five years starting December 2020. APRI is set to deliver 41 MW of Cleanergy to the 10 municipalities within the NEECO II Area 1 franchise area.

In a ceremonial signing held at their Talavera head office, NEECO II Area 1 Board President Reynaldo Villanueva welcomed members of the technical working group, as well as The Bids and Awards Committee (TPBAC) who spearheaded the Competitive Selection Process (CSP).

“This partnership with AboitizPower is definitely

part of a continuing commitment to power the needs of the residents and businesses of the municipalities we serve while minimizing our carbon footprint. It’s been a tough nine months for the NEECO II Area 1 group, but with the strong support from all groups within the organization, we are on-track once again towards fulfilling our unwav-

ering service to the people,” Villanueva said.

As early as March last year, the bidding process for NEECO II Area 1’s energy requirement had already begun, where four energy suppliers participated and APRI emerged as the chosen power provider.

As in many aspects impacted by the pandemic, conducting a CSP during the

months on lockdown was no easy feat. As pointed out

by APRI President and Chief Operating Officer Dennis B. Jordan, “This is one of the hurdles that both teams had to overcome, but in the end, the results proved to be as rewarding as the journey itself.”

“It must not have been an easy task to continue the

or Agent Banking Partner.

They can also withdraw cash at ATMs and POS terminals, perform cashless transactions, tap payments, and shop online, as well as receive government subsidy digitally.

"Our collaboration with PSA significantly advances our mutual thrust toward greater financial inclusion.

Through LANDBANK accounts, we can reach and provide financial services and government support interventions to as many underserved and unbanked Filipinos nationwide," said LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo.

Ilonggos and devotees of Sto. Nino won’t be missing out on all the fun and festivities as Iloilo’s Dinagyang Festival goes online this year.

Dubbed “Dinagyang Digital 2021”, mobile services provider Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), wireless arm of the country's largest integrated telco PLDT, will power the festival’s line-up of activities, which Ilonggos can stream safely from the comfort of their homes.

Among the highlights of these activities is the Dinagyang Smart Night 2021, a virtual concert featuring alternative rock band Hale, Philpop Winner Reon, and social media influencer Inka Magnaye on Jan. 24, 2021, which will be streamed on Smart's official Facebook

Page.

During the event, subscribers also get a chance to be one of the lucky winners of GIGAMANIA, which features exciting prizes every week, such as phones, free data, GigaPoints, P1 million cash and a chance to win P10 million in the grand draw. To participate, subscribers can register for the raffle on the GigaLife app and load up to earn and accumulate GigaPoints for their raffle entries. GIGAMANIA is open to all Smart Prepaid, Smart Postpaid, Smart Bro, and TNT subscribers until April 2021.

Empowering passions, purpose Support for virtual celebrations that showcase Filipino culture and devotion to the Sto Nino, such as the Di-

nagyang Festival, is among PLDT and Smart's initiatives to empower their customers in pursuing their passions and purpose. Smart also recently teamed up with Grammy-nominated music act BTS to headline its banner ‘Live Smarter, Live with Purpose’ 2021 campaign.

The partnership intends to showcase BTS’ support of Smart’s goal to inspire the Filipino youth to live their lives with passion and purpose.

Smart has also expanded its current suite of GIGA offers. In addition to GIGA Video, GIGA Stories, GIGA Music, and GIGA Games, which come with data dedicated for consumer passions, plus open access data for other online activities,

PSA, LANDBANK partner in PhilSys to deliver Nat’l IDs, bank accounts

I

n partnership with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) continues to support the National Government’s agenda of financial inclusion by providing registrants of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) with their own transaction accounts.

LANDBANK will be colocating with the PSA in registration centers for the second step of the PhilSys registration, to allow registrants to open new transaction accounts and gain formal access to basic banking and other financial services.

After the roll out of the first step of the PhilSys registration, PSA reported that more than 82% of more than 10.5 million registrants did not have transaction accounts.

The Bank will be offering a LANDBANK Mastercard Prepaid Card to successful PhilSys step 2 registrants without any transaction account free-ofcharge through LANDBANK account opening booths at designated co-location areas.

With the LANDBANK Mastercard Prepaid Card, cardholders can cash-in, cash-out, and transfer funds at any LANDBANK Branch

FPSA, P10

FABOITIZPOWER, P10

Smart powers First Digital Dinagyang fest, supporting customer needs in pandemic

FSMART, P10

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VOL.13 ISSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

SHOULD YOU GET YOURSELF VACCINATED?

I

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

f we want to return to the time when we don’t wear face masks and face shields, hug each other, and talk with freedom and laughter, then the world’s population needs to be immune to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the microorganism that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

But not all people can be vaccinated; there are those who might be allergic to the vaccine or have some health problems so much so that they should not receive the vaccine. This is where herd immunity comes into the picture.

“Herd immunity refers to the condition wherein immunizing a proportion of the population is sufficient to protect the community and achieve control of the disease,” Dr. Alora explains. For instance, a house with 10 members and only the two old folks and a pregnant woman have not been immunized, then the three are still protected since all seven have been vaccinated.

“Before COVID-19, it often took a decade or longer to develop and make a vaccine widely available to the public, although the first polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salik took only six years, and more recently, a vaccine against the Zika virus took only 6.5 months from its

inception to human testing,” Dr. Hussell writes.

The reason why it takes years is because the vaccine has to undergo preclinical phase and 4 clinical phases.

However, the development of COVID-19 vaccine was accelerated. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions around the world raced to meet the demand for effective measures to combat and control the disease,” Dr. Alora notes.

The COVID-19 vaccine development process accelerated building on knowledge from the epidemic caused by two previous strains of coronavirus: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Currently, there are four categories of vaccines in clinical trials: whole virus, protein subunit, viral vector, and nucleic acid (RNA and DNA). Some of them try to smuggle the antigen into the body,

Although that might be unthinkable and may not happen immediately, we can return to “normal” only if most of the world’s population are already vaccinated. “Though vaccination is a choice, don’t forget that vaccines have been around a long time and have saved more lives than any other medicine,” Dr. Tracy Hussell, professor of inflammatory disease at the University of Manchester, reminds.

“One year ago, a new virus emerged and sparked a pandemic.

Life-saving vaccines have been developed. What happens next is up to us,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) in his opening remarks at the 148th session of the executive board last January 19.

“We have an opportunity to beat history; to write a different story; to avoid the mistakes of the HIV and H1N1 pandemics,” he added. “The development and approval of safe and effective vaccines less than a year after the emergence of a new virus is a stunning scientific achievement, and a much-needed source of hope.”

Vaccines, he pointed out, “are the shot in the arm we all need - literally and figuratively.”

Vaccination is one of the most effective practices in protecting yourself from infectious diseases as it improves your immune system. “Immunization results in an individual possessing antibodies that recognize and remember the specific infectious organism and learn to respond more strongly to a succeeding exposure,” explains Dr. Angeles Tan Alora, former president, now adviser, for Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Disease.

Once vaccinated, a person can now resist the specific infection, has less chance of getting sick or of getting a severe or complicated disease. If the whole community has been immunized, there is a chance that the specific infectious diseases are reduced or even eradicated.

others use the body’s own cells to make the viral antigen.

In addition, countries like the United States and Great Britain approved specific vaccines despite the lack of the usual complete development cycle, particularly phase 4 of the clinical trial where the vaccine is tested on a large population to ensure long term safety and efficacy. The urgency of the situation justified their action.

The Philippines does not produce a vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the country’s regulatory authority; it has the “responsibility to ensure that these vaccines are safe and efficacious.”

Right now, there are 9 COVID-19 vaccines that can be imported by the Philippines. These are Pfizer-BioNTech (a collaboration of US and Germany), AstraZeneca-Oxford (made in United Kingdom), Sputnik V (Russia), Moderna

(US), Janssen (Belgium-US), Sinovac and Sinopharm (both from China), Clover (China-Australia), and Novavax (US).

“Inasmuch as vaccines are imported, stored, and delivered to the place of vaccination, it is essential that transport, storage, and handling facilities and processes keep the vaccine viable and stable,” Dr. Alora explains. “The match between what is needed for these and what can and will be done is extremely important in decisions regarding which vaccines to purchase and where people should be vaccinated.”

The following vaccines require normal fridge temperature for their storage: Janssen, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Clover and Novavax. AstraZeneca-Oxford also needs normal fridge temperature (2°C to 8°C) while Sputnik V likewise needs a dry form of normal fridge temperature.

Moderna has a storage requirement of -25°C to -15°C. Pfizer-BioNTech is even

lower: -70°C. “No vaccine is absolutely and completely safe or perfectly effective,” Dr. Alora reminds.

“But the risks of most vaccines are outweighed by the risks of getting the disease.”

Filipinos have four options in getting the vaccine: (1) a vaccine approved by the FDA for public use, (2) a vaccine approved by the FDA for clinical trials, (3) vaccines available from the black market, (4) to go abroad for the vaccination.

“Whichever option you choose, be aware of the vaccine limitations,” Dr. Alora stresses and adds that before allowing yourself to be vaccinated, you need to ask yourself if the vaccination is right for you.

Among the questions you need to answer yourself are the following: 1) Are you exposed to the disease, likely to get it and therefore in need of protection? Chances are, if you are the average sociable Filipino you are definitely exposed to the disease.

2) Is your immune system robust enough to mount a favorable response to the vaccine? Are you on immunosuppressive treatment, in an immunocompromised condition, or elderly? These may impair your immune system.

3) Are you presently sick, especially, with a fever? If yes, vaccination is also not advised.

You don’t want to confuse your immune system and you don’t want adverse reactions to add to your discomfort.

4) Are you likely to develop an adverse reaction? Side effects are mostly transient and mild: redness and soreness of the vaccine site; easy to tolerate. Reported serious adverse reactions are few and usually relate to allergy. If you have had previous allergic reactions to vaccination, think twice.

Now, will Dr. Alora allow herself to be vaccinated?

“Certainly, once a vaccine is approved by the FDA for public use, it is available from a reliable institution, and will be administered by a competent healthcare giver,” she replies.

In the meantime, she urges the public to follow the effective public health measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus. These are: staying one meter away from others, choosing well ventilated spaces, wearing a mask and face shield, washing hands and disinfecting, covering the nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, and isolating the sick.

– (Photos courtesy of WHO)

10 EDGEDAVAO UNEMPLOYMENT... FROM3

ug P10,000 and in the maximum makadawat ang miyembro ug P20,000,” Quayle said.

She said applicants must present notice of termination from the employer once removed from work involuntarily.

Quayle said prior to the pandemic no one is applying for the said program as retrenchment of employees among companies seldom

happens.

“Seldom ra ta makadungog na ang isa ka tao gi-retrench or go terminate tungod kay naglisod ang kompanya. Buyag before the pandemic we were doing good. Except katong naglinog ug naay natumba na mall in 2019 daghan nawadan ug trabaho ug diri sila midangop nga programa,” she said.

He also noted that most fatalities had complications such as heart and cardiovascular diseases, those with chronic kidney diseases and mostly undergoing dialysis treatments, seniors with diabetes, and cancer.

“These fatalities all had weak resistance and were immuno-compromised,” he said, adding that some 50 percent of the city’s confirmed Covid-19 positive cases were due to community transmission. (PNA)

Development Division and Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang who are responsible of creating guidelines and process flow in following the mitigating measures inside the workplaces,” he said.

Lopez said that these teams monitor the compliance of health protocols inside the workplaces to ensure compliance and eventually rid the impact of the COVID-19 infection.

He said that aside from following the four main health protocols in the workplaces namely handwashing, wearing of face mask and face shield and social distancing, proper air ventilation must be observed.

“If you have no proper air flow in a closed-airconditioned room, there is the tendency that the air we breathe out recirculates longer within the area. It is important that the air has entry and exit either through

the window and the door,” he said.

Lopez said every one in the room has fifteen minutes in acquiring the COVID-19 from the COVID-19 positive individual.

As of January 19, 10,521 COVID-19 cases had been noted since March 2020 up to the present with 81 to 82 percent comprising the number of recoveries at 8,568 with 488 COVID-19 deaths.

Lopez said most of the COVID-19 cases belongs to asymptomatic and mild cases while only few are classified as critical and severe cases.

He said the accumulation of mild and asymptomatic cases are due to the contact tracing conducted by the city government while those who died were basically old with comorbidities and lingering illness. (PIA XI-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines)

possible is providing [a] certain limit or cap on how much data can be rolled over,” said DICT Legislative Liaison Division Chief Omar Sana.

This, he said, would ensure that the rolling over data would not be “overly burdensome” to the telcos should subscribers get an accumulation.

National Telecommunications Commission Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said that telcos should explain to its subscribers the mechanics to the data services they are offering so they could choose which of these promos and services are fit for their consumption.

Cabarios also urged telcos to design services that would suit the subscribers’ preferences.

“Those who cannot afford to pay monthly, they could do prepaid services,” said Cabarios.

Revilla suggested that telcos can rebate unused data allocations via online

cash apps.

Ariel Tubayan, head of Globe’s policy division, corporate and legal services group, said that Globe already provides mechanisms to roll-over data load but it has to be made before the load expires.

“We can find a way na masolusyonan ang daing ng ating mga kababayan para ma-full utilize ang kanilang mga unused load palagay ko kapag narating natin ito sa technical working group we can find a way na acceptable sa lahat,” said Tubayan.

(We can find ways to solve the public’s concerns to fully utilize their unused load. I think if we will be able to inform our technical working group about it, we will find ways that are acceptable to everyone.)

The committee is set to form a technical working group to consolidate the two bills and come up with a mechanism acceptable to both telcos and their subscribers.

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ADULTS... FROM 3 home, adults should immediately wash their exposed parts of their body to wash out the possible COVID19 virus that may have stuck on them.

Aside from that, she also highly encouraged for adults to get vaccinated.

“As we all know there is a vaccine now that’s being rolled out, so far, these vaccines are intended for the adults since there’s no vaccine approved for children’s use yet,” De La Cruz claimed.

She supported that the current studies have only been done on the adults for now, that there have yet to be studies done on children when it comes to COVID19 vaccination.

As such, she assured that if the adults can be protected from COVID19 through vaccination, then the children at home will also be free from being infected by them. (Jan Vincent Leuterio/PIA-XI)

deserve to be rewarded for their hard work.”

Bayad marketing head Wendell Labre told journalists in a Viber message that because most of their channels are physical branches, the number of transactions dropped when the government implemented lock-

downs.

“However, we can share that our digital transactions (thru GCash, PayMaya, Lazada, etc) significantly increased to 30 percent of our total volume from 10 percent pre-pandemic,” he said. (PNA)

made available under the CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises) Bill, the DTI is undertaking a comprehensive approach to revive the auto industry -- employing coherent policy measures while still maintaining fair trade and the contestability of the market for imports.

This, together with the major reforms we are doing -- such as the Public Service Act, the Rice Tariffication Law and the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, and many more -- will bring about a more attractive investment climate moving forward,” Lopez said. (PNA)

Smart has also launched GIGA K-Video, which allows Smart prepaid subscribers to enjoy ad-free streaming and unlimited downloads of K-dramas via the VIU Premium video streaming platform.

Smart also offers GIGA Pro, its biggest prepaid data pack for heavy data users; and GIGA Work and GIGA Study, which provide data allocations for work collaboration tools and learning apps, specifically tailored for employees’ online productivity needs and students’ online education needs. Launched last year, the GigaLife App aims to en-

able \prepaid and postpaid subscribers to manage their subscriptions more seamlessly.

These customer-centric efforts are underpinned by PLDT-Smart’s accelerated network rollout across the country. As of December 2020, PLDT's fiber infrastructure, the most extensive in the country, comprised more than 429,000 kilometers. This fiber infrastructure supports Smart's mobile networks, which now cover 96% of the population and is available in 95% of the country's cities and municipalities.

geothermal exploration, development, and utilization projects is now permitted,

as it issued a moratorium on the endorsement for new coal power plants.

LANDBANK has tapped cooperatives, associations, small and medium enterprises, and private entities as Agent Banking Partners to facilitate account application and Know-YourCustomer (KYC) activities at PhilSys registration areas.

As of December 23, 2020, LANDBANK has also on-boarded 136 Local Government Units (LGUs) to assist in the data gathering

for future account opening and provision of LANDBANK Cards for their unbanked constituents participating in the registration.

The Bank will also procure the services of more than 1,000 Service Contract Workers (SCWs) to assist in customer onboarding activities and ensure compliance to social distancing and health

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selection in the context of a pandemic and the recent calamities, but the support of NEECO II Area 1 as well as TPBAC’s full cooperation have truly been instrumental in carrying out a fair and streamlined process,” Jordan added.

In a virtual meeting room attended by other AboitizPower executives, First Vice President for Commercial Operations Juan Alejandro Aboitiz likewise expressed his gratitude for having been chosen to support the Cleanergy needs of NEECO II Area 1, “On behalf of AboitizPower, we are extremely honored to continue this journey and stand once again alongside NEECO II Area 1 in its pursuit

of reliable and clean energy for households, businesses, and the communities in its franchise area. This is such an energizing way to end the year, and truly a moment to be proud of as we accelerate our group-wide efforts towards integrating environmental stewardship plus pursuing partnerships for long-term growth.”

AboitizPower is one with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in promoting competitive and fair energy procurement processes. The company has participated in various CSPs throughout the year in a move to support these industry programs and uphold transparency among generation companies.

demnification claims, where beneficiaries are eligible for a P5,000 assistance per pig culled, according to Bernabe.

Hog raisers can simply apply for insurance via online through the DA-PCIC website, or they can visit its 13 regional offices, 58 provincial extension offices, and 20 service desks, he said.

The provincial, city or

municipal agricultural officer or equivalent official in any locality may also be sought for assistance, the PCIC chief said.

Encouraging agricultural stakeholders to take advantage of the government’s free insurance coverage is part of the DA’s broader goal under the hog repopulation program, which has been allotted with an initial P400-million fund.

The No. 30 overall pick two years ago, Porter has plenty of talent and the Cavs were hoping they could get the 20-year-old to buy in and be part of their future.

But his most recent episode was a final straw for the organization, which spent the past few days looking for a trade partner.

Porter was arrested in November following a single-car crash, but gun and marijuana charges were later dropped.

The Cavs have played well despite numerous injuries this season and take a 7-7 record into Friday's game against the Nets.

Cleveland beat Brooklyn in double overtime on Wednesday night.

Porter's deal is the second for the Cavs this month.

They acquired Prince and center Jarrett Allen from Brooklyn as part of the fourteam trade that sent James Harden from Houston to the Nets.

"We were supposed to have our U-12 Asian Championship at the end of March, but this time, the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) canceled the tournament already," he bared.

Like the Women's World Cup, the U-12 Asian championship was originally scheduled for 2020 but was pushed to March this year as well.

However, due to the pandemic, the BFA decided to just fully call the biennial event off.

"We hope to have it in 2022," Loyzaga further quipped.

Despite the postponements, he said that PABA is still keeping in touch with the sluggers.

"We are communicating amongst the officers and the coaches," Loyzaga continued.

He then hopes that they can finally go back to action especially with the mass vaccination across the globe already ongoing. (PNA)

protocols.

The PhilSys Program aims to provide Filipinos with valid proof of identity to simplify public and private transactions. It also aims

to promote the seamless delivery of financial services and government support interventions to beneficiaries across the country.

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EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

Lebron James had a season high 34 against the Bucks.

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ILWAUKEE — LeBron James scored a season-high 34 points in the opener of a seven-game road trip, helping the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-106 on Thursday night (Friday, Manila time).

Los Angeles (12-4) bounced back after blowing a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of a 115113 loss to Golden State on Monday night. The Bucks (9-6) dropped their second straight.

The Lakers shot 19 of 37 from 3-point range, with James going 6 of 10 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope making 7 of 10. Caldwell-Pope finished with 23 points.

Giannis Antetokoun-

mpo had 25 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee, but he also committed nine turnovers. Jrue Holiday scored 22 points for the Bucks, and Khris Middleton finished with 20.

This game pitted the reigning NBA champion Lakers against a Bucks team that has posted the league's best regular-season record each of the last two years.

It also featured the top two vote-getters in the

LeBron drops 34 as Lakers outduel Bucks 2019-20 MVP balloting.

Antetokounmpo won the award for a second straight season. James, a four-time MVP, finished a distant second.

When the voting results were announced last fall, James acknowledged Antetokounmpo "had a hell of a season" but added that "not saying that the winner wasn't deserving of the MVP,

but that (ticked) me off."

The Lakers were ahead 63-57 after a first half that featured seven ties and nine lead changes. The Lakers outscored Milwaukee 20-8 over the last 5½ minutes of the second quarter, including Caldwell-Pope's 35-footer at the buzzer.

Los Angeles stayed ahead throughout the second half.

Caldwell-Pope and James opened the third quarter with consecutive 3-pointers that extended the lead to 69-57.

After trailing 98-87 with less than 7½ minutes left, the Bucks cut the deficit to 102-100 when Middleton drove the baseline and scored with 3:05 remaining.

Caldwell-Pope answered by sinking a corner 3-pointer

PH baseball teams stalled Cavs trade troubled Kevin Porter by event postponements Jr. to Rockets for future pick

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he Philippine women's baseball and the boys under-12 teams have to wait a little longer before they can play as Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) president Chito Loyzaga confirmed on Thursday that the international events that they are supposed to be in have been called off due to the continuous threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

During the Usapang Sports forum of the Tabloid Organization in Philippine Sports, Loyzaga first announced that the Women's Baseball World Cup has been postponed again.

Originally scheduled for last year, the event was initially moved to March this year.

But following a confirmation on Monday, Loyzaga bared the sad news.

"We already got confirmation from the World Baseball Softball Confed-

eration that the Women's World Cup, which is supposed to be held in Mexico this March, has been postponed to a later date," Loyzaga said.

This prompted PABA to postpone the national team training too.

"With regards to our women's [team], we will at least suspend first our training also because of the present pandemic and hopefully come back perhaps when we're in a better situation where we can have perhaps face to face training," Loyzaga said.

On when he projects the World Cup to finally push through, he said, "We are hopefully expecting that maybe it might be rescheduled again perhaps after the Olympic Games."

Loyzaga then announced that there will be no more U-12 Asian Baseball Championship as well.

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LEVELAND — Kevin Porter Jr. is no longer a problem for the Cavaliers.

Cleveland has agreed to trade the troubled forward to the Houston Rockets for a future draft pick, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press on Thursday night (Friday, Manila time).

The Cavs will send Porter, the 2019 first-round draft pick who hasn't played this season and recently had an outburst in the team's locker room, to the Rockets for a protected second-round pick. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade has to be approved by the NBA. Porter's days with the Cavs reached a breaking point late last week when he became upset after learning his space in the locker room had been given to newly acquired forward Taurean Prince. Porter had only returned to practice with the Cavs a day earlier after they had spent months trying to help him.

FCAVS, P10

Cleveland has agreed to trade the troubled forward to the Houston Rockets for a future draft pick.

with 2:42 left.

The Lakers' lead didn't drop below four points the rest of the way.

Anthony Davis had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Lakers.

Montrezl Harrell added 12 points.

The Bucks got 13 points from Brook Lopez and 10 from Donte DiVincenzo.

12 SPORTS

EDGEDAVAO

CALL OF DUTY

VOL.13 ISSUE 238 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021

Kai confirms Gilas stint in FIBA ACQ third window

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ilipino basketball star Kai Sotto announced on Thursday that he will suit up for Gilas Pilipinas Men for the upcoming third window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers (ACQ).

“I’m heading home soon,” Sotto said through a video posted on Instagram.

The arrival of the 7-foot3 center is expected to shore up Gilas Men's frontline especially if naturalized player candidate Ange Kouame misses out on the clearance to join the Nationals for the third window of the ACQ happening at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.

“Sobrang excited ako para mabigyan ng opportunity na makapaglaro sa Gilas ngayong (I am very excited to be given the opportunity to play for Gilas this) February window,” Sotto said.

The 18-year-old prospect thanked his fans who have been there during his rise to stardom from a high school standout to the pros.

“I’m very blessed to have many supporters, and I promise, I won’t let you down,” Sotto said.

Interestingly enough, Sotto's decision came a few weeks before the start of the NBA G-League season.

Sotto is currently part of the league's professional pathway program, known as Ignite, giving basketball standouts who just graduated from high school a chance to be introduced to the NBA style of play before the draft.

The G-League is set to hold its season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando with Ignite confirmed to be joining.

It was reported that Sotto's stint with Ignite could be jeopardized if he decides to push through with the national team stint. (PNA)

Kai Sotto will be donning the Gilas outfit in the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers (ACQ).

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